The morning sun filtered through the blinds, hitting Jocelyn's face. She woke up in the guest room bed.
She rubbed her aching lower back and sat up. The space beside her was empty. Hayes was gone, as cold and efficient as always.
On the nightstand sat a brand-new encrypted smartphone and a set of perfectly tailored designer clothes. The contract was real.
She had just finished buttoning her blouse when the new phone started vibrating. Hayes had already mirrored her old SIM card.
The screen read: Eleanor. Cam's mother.
Jocelyn took a deep breath and answered.
Eleanor's shrill, vicious voice immediately pierced her eardrum. "Where were you yesterday? You missed the brunch and the family dinner last night! You have zero class. You can't even keep your own fiancé in line!"
Jocelyn pulled the phone away from her ear. She listened to Eleanor use the Schroeder family's 'charity' to guilt-trip her.
"If you can't help Cam secure his position at the company, you can pack your bags and get out of the Upper East Side!" Eleanor threatened.
Jocelyn's eyes turned to ice. "Is it my fault I can't keep him in line, or is it because his soul is currently tied to some whore?"
Dead silence on the other end. Then, Eleanor exploded. "How dare you speak about my son that way! You're a liar!"
Jocelyn hung up. She switched the phone to silent. She walked over to the desk and opened the laptop Hayes had provided.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Over the years, Cam had foolishly used the same password for everything, a password she knew intimately from managing his daily work accounts. She typed it in, bypassing the basic login screen and accessing his private cloud storage, where she found the bank statements he'd carelessly saved.
A massive transaction popped up on the screen. Five million dollars. Transferred to a real estate agency in Tribeca.
Jocelyn traced the routing numbers. She pulled up the digital deed.
The name on the property title was Kiley Lane.
Jocelyn stared at the photos of the luxury penthouse. She thought about the countless nights she had stayed up until 3 AM writing Cam's reports so he could get his bonuses. A bitter laugh escaped her throat.
She downloaded the bank statements, the property deed, and a security camera screenshot of Cam kissing Kiley in the lobby of that exact building. She zipped the files.
She opened her email and sent the package anonymously to Eleanor's private address. Eleanor cared about nothing more than the family's public image.
The 'Sent' notification chimed. Jocelyn could already picture Eleanor screaming and throwing things.
She closed the laptop. She picked up the new encrypted phone and texted Julian, Hayes's assistant. I need a seat at the executive board meeting this afternoon.
Jocelyn grabbed her purse and walked out of The Penthouse. She hailed a cab straight to the Cooper Group headquarters.
When she walked into the lobby, the receptionists gave her pitying, mocking looks. The whole company knew Cam had ditched her last night.
Jocelyn ignored them. She kept her spine straight, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. She got into the elevator and pressed the button for the M&A department.
The doors opened. The open-plan office immediately went quiet. Dozens of eyes watched her.
Cam was sitting in the Director's glass office. His feet were propped up on the desk. He was laughing, flirting on the phone with Kiley.
Jocelyn pushed the glass door open.
Cam jumped. The phone slipped from his hand and clattered onto the desk. His face flushed with anger. "Where the hell were you?" he yelled. "Don't think my mother's backing gives you the right to walk in here like you own the place!"
Jocelyn walked up to his desk. She planted both hands on the glass surface and leaned over, looking down at him. Her eyes were dead.
"You better prepare yourself for the board meeting this afternoon," she said softly. "The financial audit is going to be very entertaining."
Cam's face paled for a second. Then he forced a arrogant smirk. "You're just a shadow analyst. You can't do shit."
Jocelyn didn't argue. She turned around and walked out of the office, leaving Cam staring at her back with a sudden gnawing paranoia.
Jocelyn sat down at her tiny cubicle. She looked at the clock on the wall. She waited for the storm.
